St. Josemaria Institute Podcast

The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ.[ Transcript ]Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, Msgr. Dolan shares a reflection on the importance of silence as exemplified in the passage of the Transfiguration of Christ. This Scripture passage reminds us of a popular verse from the book of Psalms, “be still and know that I am God” (Ps 46:11). The disciples who witnessed the transfiguration embraced the silence; they did not tell anyone what they had seen. They understood that anything other than silence would have ruined everything. Instead, they held on to the fresh memories they had made. Throughout the season of Lent, we are encouraged to create an interior silence that allows us to enjoy the presence of God.Pope Francis shares that “the Lord speaks to us in a variety of ways, at work, throughout others, and at every moment. Yet, we simply cannot do without the silence of prolonged prayer, which enables us to perceive God’s language and to see the whole of our existence afresh in his own light” (Gaudete et Exsultate, no. 171). It is our role as Christians to see the whole of our exis

The St. Josemaria Institute has partnered with iPray with the Gospel to bring the popular daily Gospel reflections to life on our podcast. iPray with the Gospel is helpful for those who want to use the Gospel for their daily conversation with Jesus Christ.[ Transcript ]Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave us a rating or review. Stay connected with us on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: www.stjosemaria.org Also, if you enjoy the podcast, please consider helping us keep our episodes free and accessible for all our listeners: Give today!

In this podcast, we reflect on the virtue of fortitude as the motivation to overcome temptation. St. Josemaria Escriva tells us that “a task which presents no difficulties lacks human appeal - and supernatural appeal too. If you find no resistance when hammering a nail into a wall, what can you expect to hang on it?” (The Forge, no. 245). In order to win the prize, you cannot dodge the fight that takes you to the end.The virtue of fortitude is essential for the spiritual life and human development. Msgr. Dolan explains the reality of deferred gratification, which is putting off what we want and taking care of what we should do. He explains further that deferred gratification goes hand in hand with gumption, which is the ability to decide what is best in any particular situation and go straight into action. The danger in the spiritual life is abandoning the struggle and simply giving up. We can either view challenges with fear and stress, or we can choose to view them with excitement.In the Gospel reading for

In this podcast, we reflect on self-denial as a way to increase our faith and relationship with Christ. If we are to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily. Self-denial allows us a certain freedom in which we can live out the Gospel message. The goal of becoming a saint takes a serious commitment, one of prayer and Eucharistic piety. We cannot let laziness get the best of us or hold us back from becoming the person we were created to be. Saint Josemaria tells us, “if you don’t deny yourself you will never be a soul of prayer” (The Way, no. 6). We need self-control to be prayerful, loving, kind, generous, and to live a life of holy purity.Living in a world where we are faced with temptation at almost every turn, self-denial and taking up our cross is of the utmost importance. We are faced with the temptation of the seven deadly sins - anger, pride, gluttony, envy, greed, lust, and sloth. In order to combat these sins, we must not put off holiness indefinitely. Paraphrasing St. Josema

As we prepare for the upcoming season of Lent, in this podcast we turn our attention to the life of Saint Paul. Paul, who once led the persecution of the early Christian church, had a profound conversion after encountering the love of Christ and in turn, began to lead the spread of the Christian faith. Paul shows us that we evangelize by giving others a similar experience to what we had when we first encountered Christ. Paul preaches ‘Christ crucified’, that we must ‘put on Jesus Christ’.During his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, Saint Josemaria Escriva shares that we ‘need more heart’. Josemaria explains that we have become a society in which we idolize work and the creature comforts of this world, when in reality, we must seek to put people first over work. He encourages us to invest in a small community in which we can share in the love of Christ. Josemaria explains that “sometimes you find serious shortcomings in Christians’ lives, but the important thing is not ourselves and our s

In this podcast, we reflect on the greatest gift of all: charity. Charity is the foundation for all virtues, for if a virtue does not come from a place of love, then it is for nothing. Saint Paul shares in his letter to the Corinthians that “if [we] speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, [we] are a resounding gong or a clashing symbol. Likewise, if [we] have a faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, [we] are nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-2). The gift of charity is instilled in each one of us throughout childhood. Parents must witness the love of Christ for their children. They must walk the walk so that their children may come to know and experience the love of Christ. In his letters, Saint Paul tells the early church to ‘put on Christ’ as a symbol of their faith. Just as a person can tell if someone is a cop, a nurse, a firefighter, etc. based on the certain uniform they wear, living out the virtue of charity is our sign that we live for Christ. Others need to see Him in us through the w

As we celebrate National Marriage Week, we reflect in this podcast on the Holy Family as the foundation and model of the love of Christ. We are reminded of the greatest event in history - God becoming human, becoming part of this universe. God came into this world through a family, spending the majority of his life in his home in Nazareth. It is through the hidden life of Christ that we come to understand the great commandment, “love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). Christ spent the majority of his life putting this commandment into practice at home before spending his final years teaching it to others. Our ‘arena’ in which we can put the love of Christ into action is at home. The home of a family is a natural setting in which prayer, service, joy, and love, among other virtues, are first taught and lived out. If we seek to change the world, we must first begin at home, in our own corner of the world, exhibiting a love that fosters a family atmosphere. We must also be rooted in prayer. Saint Paul

On this podcast we reflect on beginning a new year and what it means to begin again. During this time of prayer, we want to ask ourselves: What can I do to make these twelve months ahead spectacular?First, we want to accelerate to the finish, which means hastening towards our goal of Heaven. This brings up the topic of strategy: How do we go about doing it? Jesus Christ shows us the way. He said to be perfect like His Heavenly Father is perfect and He gives us the gift of forgiveness of sins— the sacrament of confession. The Lord is telling us that when we begin again, when we give Him a chance to forgive us, He is filled with joy because we allow Him to exercise His mercy. As a result of the sacrament, we will reflect joy and serenity because of the marvelous gift of mercy. St. Josemaria called it the sacrament of joy because it guarantees our turning back to God and restores our divine friendship with Him.This reflection should inspire us to make the resolution to do whatever it takes to go to confession re

On this podcast we reflect on our personal journey to follow Jesus Christ. To follow Jesus is a journey and this is why he says he is the way (John 14:6). And, the geography of this journey is the human heart--our hearts. Like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), our journey begins by contemplating the love of the Father, how good we have it at home, and we repent for underestimating the infinite mercy of God. Like the son, we feel his heartfelt sorrow for alienating himself from his father. Repentance leads to faith. In the Gospel when we hear the word faith or belief it means a whole change in lifestyle. To have full belief means that we incarnate everything that Jesus Christ says. And, following the example of Jesus, our faith is inspired by deeds of love--the more love the more faith. Then, like the young rich man, Jesus asks us to keep the commandments. As Pope St. John Paul II explained, we live the commandments in order to own ourselves and have a threshold of self-control and freedom in order to live a h

Today on the podcast a reflection on the words of Jesus : “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me" (John 15:1-4).Jesus reserved these words for the Apostles within the intimacy of the Last Supper before His death. And, being a perfect teacher, He reserves these most profound and moving words for His last evening as a workshop for the first evangelization.With this imagery, Jesus is saying that there are three points of entrance into His Heart: the vine a Eucharistic symbol, pruning a symbol of the Cross, and His actual words. These three points are an instruction on the interior life.Jesus doesn't just say "remain in me". He says: "I wa

On this podcast we are invited to contemplate the apostles' first encounter with Jesus Christ and how that experience was an encounter with the love He had for them. Jesus is human love with a human nature--the Word made flesh.After Jesus' first conversation with Andrew and John, Andrew left the Lord's house a new man and he want out to find his brother, Simon Peter, and brought him to Jesus. From the get go, Jesus asks them (and us): "Are there other people you can bring to me?"Part of this following Him is to detect how much He loves us and that's a key part of the spirituality of St Josemaria Escriva. The truth that we are children of God is the backdrop to everything--that this God of mine loves me infinitely.Language is a medium of love. To get to know and love someone is a consequence of conversation--a disclosure of each person's inner self. This is why Jesus is Word because words are a medium of love.When Jesus Christ taught the apostles how to pray he told them that

This time of year is an especially spectacular and special time to penetrate the question: Who is God? What can we know about God?On this podcast we are invited to reflect on the mystery that our God has become one of us and how every prayer and reception of the Sacraments focuses on this incredible Truth. We [could] begin answering these questions by focusing on the suffering and solidarity of Jesus’s humanity and the fact that Our Lord shared in every component of human life. And, in turn, our contemplation of Jesus's humanity becomes an example for our lives. As St. Paul wrote: "Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the nam

As we prepare for the season of Advent, we share a reflection on the fruits of the Holy Spirit: peace and joy. And how with these gifts we are called to create bright and cheerful homes and environments like the home of the Holy Family in Nazareth.“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22,23).  The gifts of peace and joy are also expressions of the Heart of Jesus which he promises to give to us: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). Therefore: “May no one read sadness or sorrow in your face, when you spread in the world around you the sweet aroma of your sacrifice: the children of God should always be sowers of peace and joy” (St. Josemaria Escriva; Furrow, no. 59).Support the showTHANK YOU FOR LISTENING!Let us know that our podcast is important to you: Share your favorite episodes with others and leave u

St. Josemaria Escriva wrote that: “A very important characteristic of the apostolic man is his love for the Mass” (The Way, no. 528). Today on the podcast, we listen and reflect on the Sacrifice of the Mass, the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and how it is the center and summit of our spiritual lives.Our belief in the Eucharistic Sacrifice comes from God. We don’t achieve that belief through technique but through God’s grace. Our task is to correspond to the faith that God gives us and to ask Him to intensify it so that in our heart and in our gut we believe that the Eucharist is our center. We also want to tap into the spirit and fervor of the saints. We can learn from their reverent examples and love for the True Presence. Every saint is valuable for our own edification and for helping us labor in our "yes" to God. "There he is: King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, hidden in the Bread. To this extreme has he humbled himself through love for you" (St. Josemaria Escriva; The Way, no

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated annually in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. On today’s podcast, a reflection on the significance of this holiday and how it is a reminder that we ought to thank God always by habitually making frequent acts of thanksgiving– acts of gratitude.“We were never asked by God to come into existence. Everything we have— our talents, our virtues, even our defects— all have been been foreseen by God, allowed by God, given to us by God so that we can fulfill the single mission that we have received from before the foundation of the world, as St Paul would say, in giving glory to God: ‘Thank you Lord for everything because everything is good.’”As we strive to maintain a constant spirit of gratitude in our lives we will come to realize that “thanksgiving enlarges our hearts to receive even greater gifts from God.”“Give thanks often to Jesus, for through him, with him and in him you are able to call yourself a son of God” (St. Josemaria Escriva; The Forge, no. 265).Suppo

On this podcast, we listen to the words of Jesus in the Gospel of St. John and reflect on what it means to our calling in life (vocation): "Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:4-5).Jesus tells us that our vocation is to be an apostle - to be the light of the world (Mt 5,14). But he doesn't give us specific instructions except that we are to remain in him. What does that mean for us? It means he wants us to be constantly united to him like the vine to the branches. We are to be contemplatives in constant dialogue with him wherever we are.Our efforts to live out our vocations and to transform the world won't work if we practice a hit or miss spirituality. "I didn't get to it today" is not the language of a saint. We need t

On today’s podcast… We contemplate the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians to learn that the face of the early Church was primarily made up of ordinary men and women. But we soon come to see that their "ordinariness" was distinguished by a holy anxiousness and sense of urgency to bring the Gospel to every corner of the world.Like in every era, we are witnesses of great suffering and sadness and as Christians we recognize that the greatest suffering occurs through an absence of God. Without a doubt there is a strong correlation among sadness, despair, family disfunction, substance abuse, sexual addiction, and the absence of Christ and of the Gospel.Therefore, we are called, like the Early Christians, to make Jesus Christ real in these difficult times:“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. N

The Gospel for the Solemnity of All Saints is Jesus’s sermon on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). This Gospel communicates to us that the individual has to be the message that speaks about Christ to others. And, to be able to speak about Christ, our conviction and desire for holiness needs to be sustained by savoring Christ’s friendship and His message.“It is impossible to persevere in a fervent evangelization unless we are convinced from personal experience that it is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him, not the same thing to walk with him as to walk blindly, not the same thing to hear his word as not to know it, and not the same thing to contemplate him, to worship him, to find our peace in him, as not to. It is not the same thing to try to build the world with his Gospel as to try to do so by our own lights. We know well that with Jesus life becomes richer and that with him it is easier to find meaning in everything. This is why we evangelize. A true missionary, who never ceases

Today on the podcast... We reflect on the virtue of faith and the power of fidelity--habitual/ongoing faith--to help us be fruitful imitators of the Apostles who worked miracles and attracted people to Jesus Christ. Like the Apostles, we need to exercise a certain kind of faith that can be attained by entering into the Heart of Christ through three entranceways: the Eucharist, the Cross, and the Word (meditating on the Word of God and mental prayer).“Stir up that fire of faith. Christ is not a figure that has passed. He is not a memory that is lost in history. He lives! 'Jesus Christus heri et hodie, ipse et in saecula', says Saint Paul. — 'Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever'” (St. Josemaria Escriva; The Way, no. 584).Our desire for fidelity will also lead us to ask Him like the Apostles: Lord, what do you want us to do? We will feel a desire to give ourselves fully to our Christian vocation which is the collective vocation of the Mystical Body of